Invalid-bed



(No Model.)

G. A. LEONHARD.

INVALID BED.

8140mm to z Zfon 7E,

Patented Oct. 6, 1891.

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GEORGE A. LEONI'IARD, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

INVALID-BED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,800, dated October6, 1891.

App filed y 7, 1891. Serial No. 400,799. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. LEONHARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in InvalidBedsteads;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as Willenable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to invalid-bedsteads; and its object is toprovide a simple and inexpensive device which may be attached tobedsteads in common use to ,enable an attendant to mechanically raise aninvalid upon the bed to a reclining or sitting position, or to raise thebody so that air may pass freely underneath, or to raise the hipswithout raising the head or feet of the invalid for any purpose; and tothis end my invention consists in the construction and combination ofparts forming an invalid-bedstead, hereinafter described and claimed,reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which Figure I is alongitudinal vertical section of abedstead, showing myinventionattached. Fig. II is a detail view of a portion of the side rail with apart of my invention attached thereto, and Fig. III is a view on top ofa bedstead provided with my invention.

5 represents aside rail of abedstead; 6, the head-board; 7, thefoot-board, and 28 the slats, all of which may be of any common or usualst 'le.

S represents a sheet of bed-ticking or similar strong cloth, nearly aswide as will lie straight between the side rails and long enough tonearly reach the head-board, while its foot remains looped upon aroller-beam 9, Which I journal to revolve in hearings in the side railsor attached thereto near the footboard. The ticking is looped around thenion 13, which is journaled in a bearing 14, that is to be attached tothe side rail by means of screws or in any manner permitting easyremoval. The roller 9 is provided with a removable crank 15, whereby theticking 8 may be wound up or let out, and with a ratchetwheel 16, adetent 17 to engage the ratchet, and a spring 18 to urge suchengagement, whereby the ticking will be rigidly held at whatever pointit may be stopped when wound upon the roller.

19 is a brace similar to brace 10 and similarly mounted in bearings 20,but its bracingarms 21 are much shorter than the arms 12, and it isremovably connected with the ticking 8 by means of hooks 23, which aresecured permanently to the ticking, but may be unhooked from the brace19, so that the brace 19 may be used or notin connection with brace 10.If brace 19 is not connected with the ticking when it is rolled up, theinvalid will be raised in a nearly-straight reclining position,convenient for airing the bed-clothing or cooling the invalid. If brace19 be connected with the tick, the effect of rolling up the tick will beto raise the invalids head much higher than his hips, so that theticking will assume somewhat of the form shown in the dotted line 24:,and there may be a hole in the ticking at 25.

There are some operations which doctors have to perform upon an invalidrequiring the hips of the latter to be raised above the level of thehead and feet, and for this purpose I remove the pins 29 from the roller9, leaving it free to revolve in the ticking, and I connect two straps29 with the cross-bar of brace 19 by means of hooks 27, the other end ofeach strap being permanently attached to the roller 9. Now if the crank15 be turned to wind up the straps 26 the brace 19 will be graduallyraised, lifting the ticking and the invalids hips, his head remaining10w. Thus a variety of positions may be given to the invalid for anypurpose desired, and the movements may be made with great ease both tothe invalid and the operator.

The device is inexpensive, and for the purposejof adapting it to be soldon the market and be readily adjusted to a bed of any width there may betwo sizes made, one for single and one for double "beds, and thecross-bars of the braces may be each in two parts telescoped andscrew-threaded together, as shown at 28, though beds are generally nearenough alike not to require this extra expense. The braces may bereadily sprung enough to draw their trnnnions out of the bearings, andthe roller may also be readily removed, so that the only visible remnantof my device would be a hole in the side rail, made for the roller 9,whenever the invalid attachment is no longer required. V

The ticking may be operated, as described, either above or below amattress to raise an invalid from the mattress or to raise the ma tresswith the invalid on it.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I believe to be new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

1. The combination, in invalid-beds, of a brace journaled to the siderails of'a bedstead near their head and extending across the bed,another similar but shorter brace jonrnaled to the side rails midway, aroller journaled in the side rails near their foot and means forrevolving it, and a piece of bedtieking or other cloth permanentlyconnected with the head-brace and with the roller and removablyconnected with the midway brace,

substantially as described.

2. The combination of a head-brace, a

shorter midway brace, and a foot-roller, all journ aled in the siderails of a bedstead, and a piece of bed-ticking or other cloth attachedto the said braces and roller, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a head-brace, a middle brace, and a roller, alljournaled in the side rails of a bedstead, a piece of bed-ticking orother cloth permanently secured to the head-brace and looped around theroller, means for securing it to revolve with the roller, and hookssecured midway of the ticking to removably connect it with the middlebrace, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a head-brace, a middle brace, and a roller, alljournaled in the side rails of a bedstead, a piece of bed-ticking orother cloth permanently secured to the head-brace and removably securedto the mid dle brace-and looped upon the said roller, and a pair ofstraps fixed at one end of each to the roller and provided at the otherends with hooks adapted to engage the middle brace, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE A. LEONHARD.

